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Weeds Grow Until Uprooted

My grandma has a big garden — about fifty feet in both directions. She is getting older and the chores of gardening are harder to do. The weeds have taken advantage of the situation and grown with reckless abandon. One type of weed in particular, Bindweed, which is similar to Morning Glory, has long roots that can regenerate the plant even if broken off. So this Spring, my grandma decided to go after the weeds. It is a project that takes a lot of time. Each root has to be carefully tracked and removed. When she got to the end of the garden area she looked back at the beginning to see Bindweed tendrils covering the raspberry bushes. On closer inspection it was only one plant with long roots.

Weeds grow when we’re not looking. Mothers have lots of reasons for not noticing weeds. Some projects take all our time and attention like a new baby. Mothers might lack the energy to keep up with routine chores for various reasons. It is during those times that weeds grow.

The weeds I’m thinking of are those that grow silently. Resentment of parental authority starts small and grows silently. Soon it leads to back-talking and outright rebellion. Bad habits in children such as excessive video gaming flourish when we’re not looking. They lead to poor work ethic, boredom at school, and reclusiveness. Weeds often look harmless but have deep roots.

Every mother has periods where she’s on top of things and periods where she’s too busy to notice the weeds. I’m not about to judge moms by their children’s behavior. I too have had multiple periods of inattention. I’ve endured six pregnancies. Each one took all my energy. Weeds grew during each one that I had to uproot later. I’m grateful to my husband who helped with the weeding while I was preoccupied. I’m grateful that I’ve come up again to a point where I have the energy to tackle these important issues.

Weeding requires identifying the problems. It involves carefully tracking the roots. What is feeding the bad behavior? Is it friends, music, isolation, or something else? Removing the roots is a painstaking process. Sometimes it requires drastic measures. But leaving them to grow is unacceptable. They will eventually destroy good things we have carefully planted.

Don’t be afraid to take drastic measures to solve your problems. The gardener is tougher than the weeds. Don’t let the weeds cry for mercy. Only you can see the big picture and guide the plants to their best growth. Mothers and fathers should be in agreement and work together on this kind of project.

In Texas we say: Some things ain’t funny.

Note on Photo: I grew a morning glory in my garden on purpose. You can see it’s flowers everywhere. It grew over everything. It also reseeded so I had to pull it out for years afterwards. In hindsight, it’s pretty flowers didn’t outweigh the negative consequences.